Harrison was born in 1997[2] in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Harrison has sought to become the first person on Mars since an early age. Harrison attended Saint Paul and Minneapolis Public Schools for K-12 education.[3][4] Harrison graduated in 2019 from Wellesley College with a Bachelors of Arts.[5] She pursued astrobiology (self-made major) and Russian Area Studies degrees.[3]
The Mars Generation offers 3 main programs.[8][9] The Future of Space Outreach program encourages the support of space exploration and STEM education.[10][11][12] The Student Space Ambassador Leadership Program (SSA) is a dual program in mentorship and leadership designed to provide school and career guidance to students ages 13–24.[2]
The final program provides full paid scholarships for students demonstrating financial need to attend U.S. Space Camp.[13][14] In order to apply for consideration students need to be age 15–17, demonstrate interest in space exploration and an aptitude in STEM and complete the application, including obtaining a recommendation from a teacher and/or mentor.[15][16]
Author
In January 2021, Penguin Random House published a book by Harrison titled "Dream Big! How To Reach For Your Stars".[17] Harrison and Random House have stated that any proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to The Mars Generation, Harrison's nonprofit organization.[18]
Public engagement
Harrison's online presence as Astronaut Abby was spurred from an 8th grade National History Day project titled 'Debate and Diplomacy: The History of the ISS".[19] Harrison set up a Twitter account under the name of AstronautAbby to connect with NASA employees to get a quote for her project.[3][20] On May 28, 2013, Harrison attended the Soyuz TMA-09M launch of her mentor, Astronaut Luca Parmitano, to the International Space Station, becoming Parmitano's Earth Liaison.[21][22] As his Earth Liaison, she shared his 6-month experience of living in space with her social media community.[23]
